In 2010, Finnish designer Robin Falck wanted to build a place he could call his own. While hiking in the woods he found a beautiful location for a cabin. With mandatory military service coming up in less than a year, he knew he didn’t have time to build anything substantial that would require a permit. In Finland, you are allowed to build a small dwelling without a permit if it’s less than 96 – 128 square feet (depending on the location).

After designing the building during the winter months, Robin set out in June to build his cabin using as much locally sourced and recycled material as he could find. All building materials were carried in by hand and it took him two weeks to build. Falck estimates the cost somewhere around $10,500 (not including his own labour).

Robin says the angle and size of the window gives the interior a lot of natural light and that you can even see the stars at night! On the first floor is a lounge area with micro-kitchen while the 2nd story loft is for sleeping and storage. He named his humble abode Nido, which is Italian for ‘birds nest’.